Aaron Williams - Undergraduate Thesis by Aaron Williams

COUNTERPOINT Aaron Williams

COUNTERPOINT: A study of architectural redirection in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. by Aaron Williams

THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF: BACHELOR

ARCHITECTURE

Blacksburg, Virginia, May 14, 2015

___________________________________________________ Professor Heinrich Schnoedt, Program Chair

In the state of building at any period one may discover, in legible script, the complicated process and changes that are taking place within society itself. -Lewis Mumford

Now just as in the case of a web or other piece of woven work, woof and warp cannot be fashioned of the same threads, but the material of the warp must be [...] tough, you know, and have a certain tenacity of character, whereas the woof may be softer and a display a proper pliancyâ&#x20AC;Ś -Plato

ABSTRACT

The wave of production and development accompanied by the industrial revolution left our landscapes and cities riddled with the obsolete vestiges of past achievements. While these constructs are the products of the values and construction methods specific to their period, as building stock they offer opportunities for continued habitation and contribute to a tangible heritage that informs our cultural understanding. The reuse and redirection of such environments requires architectural intervention in the form of subtraction, alteration, and/or addition. This project studies in particular the insertion of a new building into an existing context, and seeks a harmonious relationship through the reordering of an array of existing buildings with an architectural counterpoint. A transformation of the existing construct, this new and complementary order amplifies both the new and the existing to create a richer urban ensemble and promote a deeper awareness of place, time, and culture.

CONTENTS

CONTRAST

CONTEXT

COUNTERPOINT

CONSTRUCTION

CONCLUSION

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CONTRAST

Contrast is the juxtaposition of orders, constructs, or conditions. It is the means by which we understand difference and the relative nature of objects and environments. As it is only through the relationships between elements that we can begin to define space, the intentional introduction of contrast contributes to a clearer reading of an environment. Built into our cities are inescapable differences brought on by changes in technology, economics, and social values. An ever-present collision between contemporary values and persistent artifacts produces a richly layered complexity that defines place and culture. Older buildings are the evidence of the persistence of human endeavors and their built form serves as the physical embodiment of a collective consciousness. In the tension between old and new, contrast has the power to synergistically elevate the value of both.

IDENTITY / AUTONOMY It is the charge of architecture to define a sense of place - a form of identity. As changes occur in space and society, we fear for the loss of identity and strive to strengthen that sense of place. Place does not come through the reuse of symbols and techniques from the past, and it is more likely that such use will decrease their value. Similarly, the lure of ungrounded innovation causes us to attempt the invention of a new identity, inevitably leading to dissonance. The reality is that identity is attained through the sometimes unpredictable agglomeration and juxtaposition of seemingly autonomous elements. Architecture can find opportunities in this tension between memory and invention. With a well-crafted building as a requirement for persistence, it is only through time and use that the character of a place is fully realized within a contextual fabric.

Pablo Picasso, Bullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head (1942) sfcitizen.com

Georges Braque, Still Life with a Guitar (1919) wikiart.org

CONTEXT

Context may initially be seen as a series of abstract geometries, textures, and systems to which architecture may respond. In a broader sense, it also includes the nonphysical, prevailing spirit of a place - the genius loci - that exists at the intersection of geography and culture. As an example of context, a worn studio desk reveals its character through gouges, stains, and unidentifiable scars. Here, the material is a record of its use and will leave a trace of its character on any subsequent drawing made on its surface. This influence is the direct result of physical contact with the material - but embedded in the physical reality of the object is the intangible evidence of a specific place, time, and spirit. Architecture, however, is not history - it is the conception and formation of man-made space. A building cannot presuppose its own historical record, nor can one building directly appropriate the history of another. The physical realities of geometry, space, order, construction, and material, together with the intangible qualities of a place, form a framework through which comprehensive and meaningful contextual relationships can be established.

site plan - existing conditions 0

SITE The Bailey Power Plant in Winston-Salem, NC, is part of an urban fabric that is defined economically and culturally by the tobacco industry. The former coalburning power plant, completed in 1926, once provided energy to a surrounding complex of tobacco manufacturing facilities, all part of the massive R.J. Reynolds conglomerate. Today, the heavy equipment has been removed, leaving behind two large building shells, one brick and one concrete; a concrete trestle that once delivered coal; and two tall brick smokestacks, both bearing the iconic R.J.R. Tobacco insignia. These building elements all exhibit an undeniable weight and mass as a result of the building technology of the day, and are the foil against which a strategy of architectural counterpoint can be tested.

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walter robbs architects

URBAN AXES The site is located right at the divide between two distinct urban conditions. This edge is defined by a railroad that divides the city into a dense high-rise commercial district on the west side, and a mid-rise manufacturing area on the east side. As manufacturing has moved elsewhere, the east side is left with a great deal of building stock that must be absorbed back into the city. Bailey Power Plant is the first building to mark this transition, and exists right at the point where the grid of the city shifts - from the slightly rotated grid of downtown to the strict north-south orientation of the industrial zone. This shift in geometry offers a means of expression by which the importance of the site can be elevated and the user made aware of its unique position within the urban fabric.

plan - downtown winston-salem and surrounding

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COUNTERPOINT

The city may be considered analogous to a musical ensemble - different instruments play independent parts based on different needs and structures within a musical context - but they all exist interdependently as part of the same larger order, making the overlay richer than the sum of the parts. As a subsequent hypothesis, this notion of complementary contrast is applied to the city with the addition of a new building element to the existing context. The programmatic vehicle for study is an arts park with a series of live-work artist dwellings. The existing buildings and grounds become a public space of exhibition and performance. A new tower is strategically inserted to provide private living space, studios, and an occupiable facade for the display of artwork. Each apartment-workshop combination occupies one of twelve floors of the tower. With the omission of a connecting floor plate, three workshops are afforded double-height to accommodate large sculptural work, and the floors above the double-height studios are suitable for a writer or other creative who does not require a workshop. The dialogue between live and work is the primary formal driver of the tower, and defines its urban presence.

MAIN

STREET

PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIPS The new tower occupies the north end of the site. Four concrete shear walls straddle the existing trestles, and rise to become the primary spine of the building and contain the living space. A glass and metal box extends from the spine over a portion of the existing building to contain the studios. This location prevents the tower from shading the rest of the site, and allows it to become a visual backdrop against which the existing structure will be seen from commercially active 4th Street. The shallow north-south dimension ensures adequate daylighting and a transparency of the object. As a new tower in a mostly mid-rise zone it contributes to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline, and establishes a contrasting dialogue with the existing smokestacks and several landmark buildings nearby.

PARKING

REYNOLDS BUILDING

WINSTON TOWER

SITE

PLAN

1" = 60'

site plan

WAKE

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FOREST

BIOTECH

5TH

PLACE

STREET

4TH

BAILEY

PIEDMONT

PARK

LOFTS

STREET

KRANKIES

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right plan - mezzanine and ground floor upper left meandering path middle left concept of site cleanser lower left site circulation diagram below monolith as origin of new order

PUBLIC SPACE The ground floor and mezzanine levels of the existing brick building are redirected towards public performance and exhibit space for work produced on the site. A highly ordered paving pattern on the exterior serves as a cleanser for the site. The shifted grid counters one order against the other, enhancing the perception of each. Artifacts on the site sit within this field, and variations in the paving pattern serve to highlight these particularly compelling conditions. The existing monolith, before an object of unclear existence, becomes the origin point for the new grid that dictates all paving and circulation patterns. The existing trestles become the primary means of pedestrian circulation, and reconnect the site to the city at the north and south ends.

TRESTLE

EXISTING

ENTRY

EXHIBIT PERFORM GATHER

GALLERY

MONOLITH

SERVICE MECH OFFICE

TRUSS

TOWER

MEZZANINE

LEVEL

AND

GROUND

FLOOR

1/16" = 1' - 0"

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LIVE / WORK The living spaces are defined by the four parallel walls, creating a condition that is individual, introverted, and contained. Each living space is an autonomous wood-lined tube, expressed as an insertion into the concrete scaffold. Objects are placed within the tube in such a way as to maintain its reading as an uninterrupted â&#x20AC;&#x153;caveâ&#x20AC;? of space. The eastern-most of the four primary walls is thickened to serve as a deep threshold between living and work. The studios themselves are the antithesis of the living spaces - an exposed cantilevering steel structure creates a free floor plate and a space of outward extension. The shift in geometry of the inner glass envelope expresses the contrast in order on the site and creates a dynamic interstitial space for large-scale display.

plan, tower level 8 - double height studio

plan, tower level 5 - single height studio TOWER

LEVEL 8 - DOUBLE

HEIGHT

STUDIO

1/8" = 1' - 0"

STUDIO + WORKSPACE

RECEIVING

DISPLAY

below north elevation right south elevation

east elevation

top facade study bottom study of studio interior right view of facade from existing trestle

LOOKING

NORTHEAST

CONSTRUCTION

The building technology employed is an integral part of the resulting spatial character. In contrasting new construction with the existing plant, a dialogue emerged between mass and filigree type structures. Built in the nature of structural brick, the existing plant is massive and earthbound, with an inward focus and a monolithic exterior expression. Wall sections are thick and homogeneous, and only deep roof trusses relieve the interior space of its tremendous weight. Alternatively, concerns for daylighting, translucency, thermal insulation, and overall lightness drive the structural composition of the tower. Though massive in material, the concrete spine frees the building volume from the ground and creates a matrix that can accommodate lighter secondary assemblies. Filigree-type steel structure is anchored into this mass and cantilevers outward for complete spatial freedom. Structure is exposed wherever possible to enhance the lithe quality of the building.

MATERIAL Material has a very strong role in expressing the contrast between old and new. Brick is the primary building material of the existing plant and smokestacks. These are constructs based on stacking earthbound, massive, and made viable by the large clay deposits of North Carolina. To counter this character, the tower seeks an honest expression of current building technology. Necessary mass elements are raw, cast-in-place concrete. Oak lines the living spaces and mass timber decks form the floors of the studios, taking advantage of woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character to create a record of use over time. Aluminum and glass curtain walls form an inner skin. The exterior screen of expanded stainless steel mesh reflects sunlight with its subtle shift in geometry, and creates a glowing translucency.

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upper left beam structure of studio - reflected lower left study model - structure and site below diagram - woven structure right section perspective of studio interior

STRUCTURE The structure is conceived as being woven from and around the existing elements. The trestles dictate the location of the four parallel walls, which form a gateway for pedestrian access from the city streets. These walls are braced in the east-west direction by cast-inplace concrete beams, forming a momentconnected scaffold within which the light gauge steel living spaces are constructed. From this spine extends the five steel I-beams of the studio, which bear on two transverse beams that cantilever from the secondary stair core. On the south side, the steel structure penetrates the facade, making evident the structural concept of cantilever and offering a means for the suspension of artwork. Wherever possible, a spatial tolerance is maintained between new and existing, to aid in construction and heighten the perception of difference.

THICKENED WALL The eastern-most of the four primary walls is thickened to contain all the necessary mechanical elements, service spaces, and vertical chases for the building. In addition to making a deep threshold on the interior, the wall extends outward from the exterior of the building to express the strong division between live and work. A subtle tapering on the north side expresses stability and creates the possibility for spatial connection between all of the units. This â&#x20AC;&#x153;space chaseâ&#x20AC;? connects all floors of the building, and is glazed at the roof to allow subtle daylighting and a slivered view of sky from within the massive wall. The kitchen, bathroom, and a small desk are contained within the wall, and engaged by carving away the wall of the adjoining living space.

left section through thickened wall below partial section through dwellings

SECTION

KITCHEN + LIVING

1/4" = 1' - 0"

below partial section through south facade right partial elevation of south facade

CONCLUSION

At the outset, the motive of this study was to develop an understanding of identity in the built environment. A search for specificity of form became a quest for order, driven by an acknowledgment of the existing conditions. The development of the proposed character is the result of the interaction between various autonomous elements, facilitated through the insertion of a new ordering device and fully realized over time. A building complex like Bailey Power Plant, was, at the time of its conception, driven by function, economics, and construction technology. Over time, the memory embodied in its forms has given the series of buildings a unique identity. Cultural meaning lies dormant in the tectonic reality of a building. The role of the architect in working with existing conditions is to extract the ordering principles, and to further develop a spatial framework in which unforeseen interactions can occur. In this sense a building becomes a receptor for culture - an apparatus for the creation of an identity.

Thanks to my Family to Heiner and to all the educators who have created, maintained, and enriched the legacy of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture